International

The current refugee crisis has brought out some of the horrors of capitalist society, as well as the contrast between the basic human solidarity of ordinary working people and the cold calculation and callousness of capitalist rulers in Europe and elsewhere.

The Greek crisis is approaching a denouement. This marks a turning point for the working class of Greece and the whole of Europe. Last January Greece voted for a government that promised to end the austerity policies that have ruined the country. The election of Syriza gave hope to many people throughout Europe. But precisely for this reason, the political leaders in Brussels and Berlin decided to crush the new government, to humiliate it, to sabotage it and finally to bring about its overthrow.

The Scottish Referendum produced a seismic shift in the political landscape of Scotland. The campaign shook up the whole of society and touched those who had never even voted before. The turnout was an unprecedented 85%, more than three and a half million people, bigger than any election ever held in UK history. This alone makes it a political earthquake. Although the Scots rejected independence, they have sent shockwaves through the British political Establishment.

Support the Marxists of Syriza!

A new explosive period is opening up in Greece where the ideas of Marxism will be more necessary than ever before. This means that support for the Communist Tendency of Syriza will be crucial.

Our tendency is the only one inside SYRIZA that is funded exclusively by our own members and supporters. But the situation is moving very fast, with constant turns and changes, which require regular analysis on the part of the Marxists and a stepping up of their activities, with pamphlets, leaflets and more regular public meetings.

All of this costs, and while the comrades in Greece are making big sacrifices, they are also facing a difficult situation in terms of job losses, and cuts in wages and pensions. We are therefore calling for financial support from the comrades and readers of the In Defence of Marxism website to help us spread the ideas of Marxism in Greece.

The struggle of the Greek workers is the struggle of all working people. By helping the Greek Marxists financially, you are also strengthening the struggle for socialism in your own countries!

This article looks at the situation in Pakistan, and describes on the one hand the effects of decades of rule by an inept and corrupt ruling class that has proven incapable of developing the country and on the other, highlights the immense work done by the comrades of The Struggle in building a Marxist Tendency in these every difficult conditions. [The text is a transcript of several talks given in the USA on Pakistan].